Iowa Class Battleship
Background The Iowa-class battleships were a class of fast battleships ordered by the United States Navy in 1939 and 1940 to escort the Fast Carrier Task Forces which would operate in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Six were ordered during the course of World War II, but only four were completed in time to see service in the Pacific Theater. The last two had been laid down, but as a result of the postwar draw down of the armed forces they were canceled prior to completion and eventually scrapped. Like other third-generation American battleships, the Iowa class followed the design pattern set forth in the preceding North Carolina- and South Dakota-class battleships, which placed great emphasis on speed as well as on the secondary and anti-aircraft batteries.7 The Iowa class ships were also the longest examples of their type ever built, although other battleships were built with wider beams and higher displacements. Between the mid-1940s and the early 1990s the Iowa-class battleships were involved in four major wars fought by the United States. In World War II, they defended aircraft carriers and shelled Japanese positions. During the Korean War, the battleships provided seaborne artillery support for United Nations forces fighting against North Korea, and in 1968 New Jersey shelled Viet Cong and Vietnam People's Army military forces in the Vietnam War. All four were reactivated and armed with missiles during the 1980s as part of the 600-ship Navy initiative; in 1991 Missouri and Wisconsin fired missiles and 16-inch (406 mm) guns at Iraqi targets during the First Gulf War. The U.S. Navy decommissioned all four battleships in the early 1990s with the end of the Cold War due to their high maintenance costs. Initially, all four battleships were removed from the Naval Vessel Register; however, the United States Congress compelled the Navy to reinstate two of the four battleships on the grounds that existing naval gunfire support would be inadequate for amphibious operations. This resulted in a lengthy debate over whether battleships should have a role in the modern navy. Meanwhile, the battleships struck from the Naval Vessel Register were slated to be donated to not-for-profit organizations. All four battleships have officially been transferred to private groups and operate as part of their associated maritime museums; the fourth (Iowa) is currently being renovated for use as a museum ship in Los Angeles. Model Type - Battleship Class - Iowa Class Crew - 1800 (Vietnam and later), 2700 (World War II and Korea) SDC By Location Main Hull - 90 000 Hull per 40 ft - 1 500 Drive Propeler - 4 000 ea 16" Guns - 7 000 ea Main Turrets - 10 000 ea Secondary Turrets - 3 000 ea Dual 40mm auto-cannons - 500ea 20mm auto-cannons - 200ea CIWS - 1 000 ea Tomahawk Launcher - 4 000 ea Harpoon Launcher - 2 500 ea Superstructure - 30 000 AR - 15 (vehicle AR) Armour - Stops all standard handgun rounds and upto and including 30mm rounds. Explosive and ramjet rounds are still effective. Speed Surface Speed - 57 kph Range - 15 000km Statistics Height - 33m overall top to bottom, 25m from the waterline Length - 271m overall, 262.5m at the waterline Width - 36m overall Weight - 52 000 tons displacement Cargo - 6 months of consumables for the crew Power System - 4 screws; geared turbines; 8 Babcock & Wilcox Boilers; G.E. (BB-61;BB-63); West. (BB-62; BB-64; BB-66); 212,000 shp (158,000 kW) Cost - millions of US dollars, millions of US dollars to operate annually Weapons All Configurations Weapon Type - 16" Guns (9) Primary Purpose - Anit-ship/Bombardment Range - 38km maximum Damage - 1d4x1000 H.E., 6d6x100 A/P, 4d6x100 FRAG (50 ft area) per gun Rate Of Fire - 1 every other melee Payload - 60 shells per gun Bonuses - na Weapon Type - dual 127mm cannons (10 reduced to 6 in the last configuration) Primary Purpose - Anti-ship Range - 10 km Damage - 1d6x100 H.E., 2d4x100 A/P, 1d4x100+100 FRAG (25 ft area) per gun. Double Damage for dual blasts. Rate Of Fire - 4 single or dual blasts per melee Payload - 200 single or 100 dual blasts each Bonuses - na World War II and Korean Conflict Weapon Type - Dual 40mm auto-cannons (20, 10 per side) Primary Purpose - anti-aircraft Range - 7km Damage - 1d6x100 per burst Rate Of Fire - bursts equal to gunners attacks Payload - 100 bursts Bonuses - na Weapon Type - 20mm auto-cannons (49, 20 per side, 9 spread around bridge superstructure) Primary Purpose - anti-aircraft Range - 1.5km Damage - 4d6x10+30 per burst Rate Of Fire - bursts equal to gunners attacks Payload - 200 bursts Bonuses - na Last Configuration Weapon Type - Tomahawk Launchers (8) Primary Purpose - varies Range - 2500km Damage - vareis with warhead type (Heay H.E., Light Nuclear) Rate Of Fire - 1 at a time per launcher Payload - 4 each Bonuses - +2 strike Weapon Type - Harpoon Anti-ship Launchers (4) Primary Purpose - Anti-ship Range - 300km Damage - 6d6x100sdc Rate Of Fire - 1 at a time per launcher Payload - 4 each Bonuses - +2 strike Weapon Type - CIWS 20mm gatling gun (3-4 depending on specific ship) Primary Purpose - anti-aircraft/missile Range - 2000m Damage - 6d6x10sdc per 20 round burst Rate Of Fire - 5 per melee Payload - 80 bursts each Bonuses - +1 strike Bonuses and Penalties +1 strike with weapon systems (World War II and Korean Conflict) +2 Strike (Vietnam) +3 strike (Last Configuration) Cannot dodge Systems of Note World War II and Korean Conflict Aircraft - 3 × Vought OS2U Kingfisher/Curtiss SC Seahawk or Helicopters later Radar - Range - 150km for airdcraft, 20km for surface vessels Targeting System Vietnam Aircraft - 3 × Helicopters Radar - Range - 250km for airdcraft, 30km for surface vessels Targeting System Last Configuration Aircraft - 5 × RQ-2 Pioneer Unmanned aerial vehicle Radar - Range - 480km for airdcraft, 50km for surface vessels, +5% Read Sensory Equipment Targeting Computer EW Equipment - -5% to opposing read sensory equipment skill rolls References Used Wikipedia Encyclopedia of Modern Warcraft